Ephemeral Shrine Maiden
by TCAnimorph
Summary: In a reality where Gensokyo doesn't exist and Marisa is a chemistry major, youkai struggle to survive against a lack of belief and a sinister force seeking to exterminate them for good. When the violet youkai literally crash-lands in the red-white's front yard, though, there may be hope for them yet. AU, no pairings planned (they might spontaneous later on though!)
1. beginnings

(Hello everyone! It's me, that one person who's rather notorious for never finishing anything besides crappy oneshots of pairings that nobody else ships. Hoping to finally fix that o.o This fanfic is AU, taking place in a reality in which Gensokyo was never created, and if that bothers you, please don't bother reading it.)

* * *

It was raining heavily as Reimu rode her bike down the street, a dark purple umbrella balanced rather precariously across her shoulders.

"Ugh, I wish I hadn't had classes today," she muttered, taking one hand off the handlebars for a second to keep the umbrella from flying off in the wind. Reimu wasn't fond of getting wet, and this was at least keeping her somewhat dry. If she hadn't had to leave the shrine where she lived, though, she'd be even drier. She rounded a corner, spraying water from a puddle all over her ankles, and braked to a stop at the bike rack in front of the Hakurei Shrine. She chained the bike to the rack (couldn't afford to have another one stolen…) and started up the path, shifting the umbrella to one hand where it could shield her better.

Once she had made it up onto the front steps, she took a small key out of her pocket and unlocked the donation box, sheltering it with her umbrella. There was a single 50 yen coin inside, which she scooped out and pocketed, locking the box again afterwards.

"Well, that's 50 more yen than yesterday," Reimu sighed to herself as she went inside. She took off her shoes and set down her bag and umbrella. This part of the shrine had once been the hall of worship, but nobody had come to worship at this shrine for longer than Reimu could remember, so she'd taken up living there herself. She set about heating some water for tea, and allowed herself to relax. It was nice and dry in here, and warmer than outside. Not by as much as she would have liked, but she couldn't do much about that.

For a minute, she considered getting her homework out. But really, it was just to read, and she had already finished the book they were supposed to be doing. No point in that.

"So bored…" she said, putting her head down on the table. She closed her eyes for a moment, contemplating taking a nap. No… her tea water would be ready soon. She couldn't miss that.

Suddenly, though, there was a loud crashing noise from outside. Reimu jolted upright, and hopped to her feet. Whatever was going on, she figured she had to yell at someone. "If it's another bike thief, I'm going to punch them _so hard_," she said to herself, slipping her shoes on. She ran out, not even thinking to pick up her umbrella.

Just outside, one of the stone lanterns that lined the path up to the shrine had been knocked over onto the walkway, and there was someone lying on the ground beside it in a heap of tattered, soaked purple cloth and long golden hair. Reimu cautiously stepped over, watching the stranger shakily try to push herself up off the ground, then collapse again with a barely-audible cry.

Reimu had never seen this woman before in her life. But she was trembling, and the puddle under where she was lying was already taking on a pinkish tinge, and it wasn't often that Reimu came across someone who looked more pitiful than she did.

"Hey. Hey, come on, let's get you inside," Reimu said, kneeling and gently putting a hand on the stranger's shoulder. She only got a whimper in response, and when she lifted her hand off, her fingers were stained red. Reimu frowned, but didn't let this stop her, lifting the woman's limp form up off the ground as best as she could and trying to ignore her short, pained gasps. She half-carried, half-dragged her inside, where she gently laid her back down. The injured woman stared up at Reimu with eyes that were impossibly bright gold, and flickered away from Reimu's face every other moment as if searching for danger.

"It's okay, you're safe in here. Look, just… hold on, I'll run and get some bandages," Reimu said, attempting a reassuring tone. She could still feel the piercing yellow gaze on her as she turned and went straight for the cabinet where she kept her medical supplies. It wasn't as if Reimu could go to the hospital, not with how few donations she received, and so she'd become used to simply patching up her own injuries. She pulled out bandages, gauze, and some antibacterial spray, and went to carry them back to the woman.

The woman didn't resist as Reimu carefully pulled the purple fabric off of her- it looked like it might have been a dress at some point- and looked her over. She was covered in gashes, thankfully shallow-looking, and there was a clean hole through her shoulder- a bullet wound, Reimu guessed. And luckily for Reimu, she had appropriate undergarments, though they were slightly raggedy and dyed red by her injuries.

"Gods, you're a mess," Reimu told her, spraying her wounded shoulder and starting to bandage it. She was only offered a shaky attempt at a smile in return for her comment. By the time Reimu finished covering each wound, the woman's body was half wrapped up in bandages. She had to stifle a giggle before putting the 'dress' back on her. With so many holes in it and so many torn spots that had been tied together, the faded purple garment could hardly be called that.

"There. That should be better," Reimu said, offering the blonde woman a smile. The woman smiled back, still shakily. Reimu got up, and took her remaining bandages and such back to the cabinet, making a mental note to ask her to help replace the supplies when she got better. Oh, and the water for tea was probably hot by now…

After quickly washing her hands and then getting the tea started, Reimu carried the hot teapot over to the table in the center of the room, and set it down. She looked up to see that the woman had managed to get up and was sitting beside the table, still shaking a bit.

"Oh, hi. Do you want some tea?" she asked, blinking a couple times. Just a minute ago, she'd been too weak to speak, but now she could move...?

"Only if it's no trouble," the woman said, in a calm, mature voice that was surprisingly steady, considering her injuries.

"Yeah, it's… it's no problem. One second," Reimu said. She went back for teacups, and brought two over, placing one in front of the woman before sitting down across from her.

"Thank you. For the bandages as well," the woman said, still watching Reimu with her piercing gold eyes.

"Yeah. Hey, uh… so what's your name? I'm Reimu Hakurei," Reimu said.

"Yukari Yakumo," she responded. It was a strange name, fitting for this stranger who had shown up out of the blue. Like Reimu was one to talk, though… she had no idea what her mother had been thinking. _Reimu_. Sure, she had grown to like it, but if she ever had a daughter she'd name her something sensible, like Rin or Hina.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Yukari. Would it be rude to ask what happened for you to turn up on my front porch looking like you fell through a wood chipper?" Reimu said. Yukari chuckled, but winced- even the faint laughter must have hurt.

"It's a reasonable question. You would not believe the answer, though," she said. Reimu raised an eyebrow. Was this woman some sort of criminal? She stared at Yukari while she poured tea into both of their cups. Yukari sipped daintily at hers, eyes fluttering closed in bliss. Unless she was high up in the yakuza or something, no, that wasn't the air of a thief or murderer. And she looked Japanese, but that blonde hair and gold eyes were too strange. Reimu had no idea what to make of her, really.

"Your home is lovely. I could have sworn it looked like a shrine from outside, though," Yukari said after a minute. She certainly was polite, at the least.

"Ah, yeah… it was a shrine. My family's, the Hakurei Shrine. But it hasn't been used as a shrine since my mom died, and I don't even know what kami it was dedicated to. It's really just my place now," Reimu explained. It didn't bother her, just stating the facts. Time had long since dulled any pain that thinking about it brought.

"Hm. You still dress like a shrine maiden, though," Yukari said.

"Dressing like a normal person would mean borrowing clothes from Marisa, and I don't like her taste in fashion," Reimu responded in a flat tone.

"Friend of yours, I assume?" Yukari's small smile widened a bit.

"Yeah, you could say that. She's kind of weird, but she's really the only person I get along with at school." Chemistry class last year had been quite interesting with Marisa as Reimu's lab partner, to say the least.

"Sounds lonely."

"A bit. I'm rather used to it."

"And yet you brought me into your home at once."

"I wasn't about to try and explain to the authorities how some random woman bled out on my front lawn," Reimu said in a teasing tone. Yukari started to laugh, but quickly cut herself off with a gasp, one hand going to her side. "…Hey, are you okay?"

"I will be. I think I cracked a rib when I hit your lantern," Yukari said, wincing slightly as she drew her hand away.

"When you _hit_ my lantern? You _are_ going to have to tell me what happened at some point," Reimu said, frowning.

"Perhaps. I still do not think you would believe it if I told you the truth. Miss Reimu, would it be alright for me to ask to stay here for a time? I am very tired, and though I hide it well, I am in a lot of pain. I would rather like to rest," Yukari said. Though her features suggested she was barely older than Reimu, at that moment her weary eyes seemed ancient. What exactly had she been through…?

"Yeah, of course. You can have my bed." Reimu got up, leaving Yukari to her tea. She got her futon out, and unfolded it in its usual spot. Sure, she'd have to sleep on the floor, but she was pretty sure Yukari needed it a lot more than she did. And she'd slept on the floor before.

"Thank you, Miss Reimu. You're very kind," Yukari said. She set her empty teacup down, and shakily got up. She managed the few steps over, and collapsed onto the thin mattress. Reimu gently set the blanket down over Yukari. She just looked so _tired_.

"Sleep well," Reimu said to Yukari, before going back to finish her tea. She went about the rest of her evening almost automatically, making herself a dinner of plain rice, and re-reading her homework for lack of something better to do. Her mind was on the blond woman sleeping soundly on her bed, though. Just who or what was this Yukari Yakumo…? She was very polite, and yet she'd obviously been hurt by someone or something. Her eyes were an unnatural gold, but she was far too raggedy for them to be expensive color contacts. Reimu couldn't make sense of it, especially not while trying to read. The time had flown by while she was lost in thought, and after quickly changing into her night clothes in another room, she walked back over to Yukari and stared down at her. She hadn't moved since going to sleep, and she looked peaceful just lying there, eyes shut. Reimu glanced around, and mentally berated herself for it. What was she expecting? This was her home. She carefully slid under the covers of the futon beside Yukari, being careful not to disturb her- it was just wide enough for both of them- and the calm rhythm of the blonde's breathing quickly lulled her to sleep.

* * *

Reimu woke to her watch beeping. Ah, right, she had classes early today… She rubbed her eyes, accidentally elbowing Yukari in the face in the process. The blonde made a small sound of discomfort. Reimu had forgotten all about her, actually… she edged out of bed carefully, trying not to disturb her again. Luckily, Yukari still looked like she was sound asleep. She still hadn't moved, and her slow, deep breathing was the only sign that she was alive. Reimu left her where she was as she went to get ready for school. She didn't see any harm in leaving her there, after all.

* * *

Ah, history class had been 'fun' as always… Reimu had to wonder why she had to take that class, seeing as she'd already learned both Japanese and world history a hundred times over. As she walked off, a familiar voice caught her attention.

"Reimu! Hey, Reimu! Wait up, ze!"

She stepped to the side right before a girl with long, light brown hair would have crashed into her. Instead, the short girl tripped and fell flat on her face.

"Ow… haha, you win," Marisa Kirisame said, sitting up and adjusting the pair of lab goggles she always wore on her head. Between those and the oversized, stained lab coat she always wore, Reimu could always recognize her at a distance, if she didn't hear her coming first.

"Hey, Marisa. Are we having lunch again today?" Reimu said, offering her friend a hand. One of the best things about being friends with Marisa was that she would buy Reimu lunch more often than not. She pulled Marisa to her feet, and had to look down to make eye contact. She'd always been a little tall, and Marisa a little short.

"Of course we are, ze! Come on, let's go!" Marisa grabbed Reimu's wrist and started to drag her off. Reimu almost stumbled, but quickly adjusted to Marisa's pace and was soon trotting alongside her.

"So how was chemistry?" Reimu asked as they went.

"Oh, it was fun. Actually, that reminds me. I can't come over to your place to study this evening, sorry," Marisa said.

"What? Why not?" Reimu asked.

"See, I managed to set neon on fire in class today, and the professor wants to see if I can replicate that," Marisa said. Reimu stared for a minute.

"…Isn't neon-"

"Noble gas, unreactive, yeah."

"How did you- you know what, I don't even want to know," Reimu said, shaking her head. If their school offered a major in 'mad science', Marisa probably would have signed up for it. She'd somehow turned her hair color from black to near-blonde in a lab accident the previous year, and it appeared to be permanent.

"Haha… Reimu, you don't question things enough, ze," Marisa said, playfully elbowing her in the ribs. Reimu deliberately looked away, but only until Marisa poked her again- that earned a giggle from her, despite her usual lack of cheer.

Their conversation continued along this vein as they walked down the street, towards the outskirts of the area that could be considered their school. On the edge of the nearby protected forest, there was a nice park area with benches. The air was cleaner here than in the city, Reimu thought to herself as they arrived, with Marisa cheerfully trying to explain a complex chemical equation to her. And just as always, on the sidewalk near an abstract-art fountain, the scent of roasted meat rose up from a simple, rather old-fashioned yakitori stand.

"Hi, Hakurei! Kirisame!" one of the two young women working at the stand called, waving excitedly.

"Yo, Mystia!" Marisa returned her wave just as energetically. As they walked over, the cheery pink-haired girl watched them with a bright smile on her face.

"You know you can call us by our first names, Mystia, we've known each other all year," Reimu said.

"But I have to stay professional," Mystia said, glancing at the other woman beside her. The quiet albino looked up, and offered only a small wave in greeting.

"Yo, Fujiwara. Would it kill you to smile?" Marisa asked, staring pointedly at Mokou, who pretended not to notice.

"Aww, don't worry about Miss Mokou. She's always happy to see you guys, even if she doesn't let on," Mystia chirped.

"Only because it means you're not dead. You going to buy something?" Mokou always sounded exhausted and monotone, and today was no exception.

"Of course, ze. I've been looking forward to this all day," Marisa said. She passed Mokou some money, and Mystia handed over two wooden skewers laden with freshly-grilled chicken. Reimu eagerly took hers, and nibbled slowly on it, savoring every tiny bite. Mokou may have had a terrible attitude, but her cooking was to die for, especially since it was Reimu's only regular source of protein.

"Hakurei."

Reimu looked up, blinking several times. Mokou had spoken on her own initiative, and that was rare. Marisa stared, and even Mystia looked surprised.

"Yeah?" Reimu said, quickly swallowing the bite of chicken she had been chewing.

"Come over here," Mokou said. Reimu hesitated a moment, then took a few steps closer, stepping around to the side of the stand. Without warning, Mokou put her hand on Reimu's side, the grabbed her upper arm. Reimu squeaked and jerked back.

"Wh-what was that for?" Reimu demanded, frowning.

"Hm. Misty, give her something else. On me. I always thought Hakurei looked a little scrawny under that miko uniform. Don't want her starving to death on my watch," Mokou said, going back to watching the grill like nothing had happened.

"_Fujiwara_! Why would you say that? I'm not going to starve to death," Reimu protested, her voice getting progressively higher-pitched. Mystia offered her a skewer with two grilled chicken livers on it. Reimu looked away, trying to keep up the impression of willpower… for all of five seconds, before taking it with a begrudging thanks. Marisa, of course, had already eaten her lunch, and gave Mokou a grin.

"So you do have a heart in there somewhere, Fujiwara. Thanks for helping me look out for Reimu, she needs it even if she won't admit it," Marisa said. She glanced over at Reimu, who had abandoned all pretenses and was attempting to fit a whole liver in her mouth.

Mokou let out a small chuckle, but didn't say anything else, aside from muttering "kids" under her breath.

* * *

As Reimu biked home from her last afternoon class, she had to admit that she had more energy than usual. Maybe she really ought to try and eat more. She had gotten all the way to the steps when she spotted the overturned lantern.

"Aw, I totally forgot to tell Marisa about Yukari…" she groaned to herself. She chained up her bike, and walked up to the donation box. Today, it was totally empty. She sighed, and threw the door open. She was greeted with Yukari sitting on her dress, carefully taking off her bandages to reveal faded scars.

"Good afternoon, Miss Reimu," Yukari said, pausing a moment to greet her with a smile.

"Okay, I'm no doctor, but even I know that it is impossible for you to already be healed that much," Reimu said, closing the door behind her. "What the hell are you?"

Yukari chuckled, and gestured for Reimu to wait a moment.

"I suppose you will be getting your answer about what happened to me," she said as she continued to take off her bandages. Now that she was no longer covered in wounds, Reimu felt a little awkward looking at her like this. But soon she'd peeled off all of the bandages, including the one on her shoulder, and that was how Reimu knew her instincts had been right and there was something very strange going on- there had been a clean hole all the way through her shoulder, but now there was just a slightly raw red patch. Reimu folded her arms as she waited for Yukari to stand up, no longer shaking like she had been yesterday, and slip her ragged purple dress back on.

"So?" Reimu asked. Yukari walked over to Reimu and stared into her eyes. Reimu stared back, slightly unnerved. Those gold eyes were… not just piercing, but this close they looked almost dangerous, and was it just Reimu, or were the pupils feline slits rather than normal…? It was only a few moments before Reimu blinked.

And in the space of that blink, Reimu was no longer making eye contact with a raggedy blonde woman, but with a beast covered in reflective deep violet scales, with a moon-white belly and a thick golden mane running down her spine, the same gold feline eyes set into her sleek face and with a pair of intricately-twisted dark gold antlers atop her head.

It took a moment to register that Reimu was looking at a _dragon_.

When it did hit her, she let out a shocked scream and jumped backwards, hitting the door. The dragon opened her mouth, lined with gleaming opalescent teeth, and laughed.

"You weren't expecting this, were you, Miss Reimu?" Yukari said, coiling herself up to sit comfortably on the floor. She was easily four times as long as Reimu's height, and her tufted tailtip flicked back and forth in amusement. Reimu put a hand over her chest to feel her racing heartbeat.

"I… definitely was not, Miss Yukari," Reimu managed after a minute, sliding down the door until she was seated against it. She rubbed her eyes, and looked up again. The dragon was still sitting calmly on her floor in front of her.

"You look rather pale. Would you like me to fix some tea?" Yukari offered.

"That would be nice," Reimu said. She continued to stare as Yukari rose to her feet, and set some water to heat up, pulled out the tea with her nimble front paws that were something between a bird's talons and a human hand in shape. "…Miss Yukari? Are you going to eat me?"

Yukari set down the tea, and in a motion too fast for Reimu to follow, had suddenly closed the distance between them and lifted Reimu up, loosely wrapped in the purple coils of her serpentine body.

"If I wanted to eat you, it would have been that easy and I would have already done it," Yukari said in an amused tone. This was too much for Reimu to take, and she went limp, everything around her melting to black.

* * *

(All reviews are appreciated, and I hope you look forward to the next exciting installment!)


	2. beginnings continued

When Reimu came to, she was sitting up at her table, supported by the end of Yukari's tail, which was wrapped casually around her waist. The violet dragon was still present, and cheerfully drinking tea.

"Thank you for the fear. It was delicious," Yukari said, grinning.

"I… what?" Reimu still felt a bit dizzy. There was a cup of tea in front of her, still hot, and she downed it in one go, hoping it would calm her a bit.

"Oh, youkai such as myself haven't eaten humans for a long time. There are so few humans that are aware of us that we simply feed off of your emotions. I'm sorry for scaring you like that, but I used up most of my strength recovering from my injuries and I needed a meal." Yukari's tail released Reimu, and they stared at each other for a minute.

"…So you… scared me. And ate the fear. And you're a dragon youkai," Reimu said, trying to let this sink in.

"Yes, that's about right. Now then, you wanted to know how I ended up in your yard? I think you might have an easier time believing me now," Yukari said.

Reimu opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it. Even if Yukari claimed she didn't eat people, Reimu didn't want to argue with her.

"…Go on."

In another blink, Yukari had shifted back to looking like a human, though an odd one with her blond hair and gold eyes. Reimu relaxed a little more- being in the same room as a mythical creature was less nerve-wracking if they weren't four times your size.

"It started a few hundred years ago. Once, we were truly as we are in the myths. Farmers in small towns would clang pots together, and the ringing would summon me with rainclouds in tow. When you prayed to a kami, more often than not they would literally appear to converse with you. This was because most people truly believed in dragons and youkai and gods."

The dreamy smile on Yukari's face as she said this quickly faded as she continued.

"But there were some people who thought that youkai were the biggest threat to humanity, and they started spreading lies that we were harmless, we were rare, and finally, that we simply didn't exist. And as belief faded, so did our strength. Many youkai have died because they have been forgotten, I can barely use any magic, and so far as I know, only two new youkai have been born in the past century."

To demonstrate her point, Yukari snapped her fingers, and a rather small splash of fire appeared over her hand. Reimu thought it was impressive, but it was obvious that Yukari had once been able to do much more.

"Anyways, with youkai so weak now, those people who believe we're such a danger have been hunting us down systematically. I'm lucky that I can still fly, or I wouldn't have been able to escape from them. Even then, I still took quite a beating. Your house reminded me of the old days from the outside, and I had to land somewhere, so… here I am," Yukari finished. She let out a faint sigh, and laid her head on the table.

Reimu sat there in silence, quietly staring at Yukari. If she had just told Reimu this story back when she'd first appeared, Reimu really wouldn't have believed it. But now that she had seen Yukari's dragon appearance, and felt her violet scales firsthand… it was a lot easier to swallow.

"…are youkai dangerous?" Reimu asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Only because people believed they were. Now people believe youkai are only stories, and soon that is all we will be," Yukari said.

Okay, that was just _sad_. Reimu didn't want Yukari to just disappear because nobody believed in her, even if she was a dragon and honestly kind of terrifying. But Yukari said that she wasn't going to eat Reimu, and Reimu believed her. If the youkai just didn't have to be feared…

Wait.

"Hey, Miss Yukari. If people believed in youkai, but they didn't believe they were dangerous, would youkai be stronger and all but also mostly harmless?" Reimu asked, her mind racing.

"Uh… yes, I think that would be the case," Yukari said. She looked up at Reimu without lifting her head. "Why?"

"What if we got a bunch of youkai and got them on international television, convinced everyone that they exist and that they aren't going to hurt anyone?" Reimu tried.

Yukari shook her head slightly.

"Most youkai, people can't even see that they're youkai anymore. You've probably met at least one and just couldn't see what they were. The only ones I'm aware of who still look like youkai to uninformed humans are myself, the demons in the dream world, Inaba, and Kazami. Out of those, I suppose I would be alright with it. Inaba, possibly, if we can find her. Kazami is… well, recent human activity has hit her pretty hard, so she might not be too enthusiastic. And as for the dream world, you can forget them. There's no way to get there at this point," Yukari said. She did sit up straight with mild interest, though.

"Well, do you suppose you and… you said Inaba and maybe Kazami…? You think that would be enough?" Reimu asked.

Yukari considered this, tapping her fingers on the table.

"…It very well might if we can get both of them. Would you be willing to help me convince them? And to arrange to get us on television in the first place?" she said after a minute.

"Yeah, I'll help. It could be good for me, too. Maybe I could get a book deal out of it, afford real food," Reimu said, smiling.

"Then I will hold you to your word. With the way things are, it is worth trying one last-ditch crazy plan thought up by a human who is barely a shrine maiden," Yukari said, returning the smile in full. Reimu had the vague feeling she'd been insulted, but shrugged it off. At least she'd cheered up the dragon youkai.

That was about when Yukari yawned, and put her head on the table again.

"…You're tired again?" Reimu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I need to conserve my strength and spend a lot of time resting if I am to remain a powerful youkai," Yukari said. Reimu sighed, and shook her head. In another blink, Yukari had become a dragon again, but smaller- only about twice Reimu's height in her length. She gracefully padded over to Reimu's bed, coiled up across half the pillow, and closed her eyes.

"…And you can turn tiny. Miss Yukari, you are just full of surprises today, aren't you?" Reimu sighed.

The rest of Reimu's evening was uneventful, as the sleeping dragon didn't disturb her schedule of a dinner of plain rice eaten over her annoyingly in-depth history homework. When she finally decided she ought to get some sleep herself, she didn't hesitate to get in bed and rest her head beside the sleeping Yukari. The dragon really didn't seem to care, so Reimu saw no reason why she ought to.

* * *

The next morning, Reimu woke up to find that Yukari was no longer tamely coiled up next to her as a small dragon, but lying across Reimu in her 'human' form.

"Oh for gods' sakes," Reimu muttered, trying to carefully move the woman off of her.

"Ah… good morning, Miss Reimu, and my apologies," Yukari said with a yawn. Whoops, Reimu hadn't meant to wake her up. Yukari quickly got up off of Reimu, and sat there rubbing her eyes while Reimu set about getting ready for the day.

"You didn't roll all over me night before last," Reimu commented once she'd gotten her tea started.

"I was still healing from my wounds night before last, so I didn't move around. When I'm not injured, I do tend to move closer to warmth in my sleep," the youkai explained with a small shrug. Reimu had the feeling that she wasn't sorry in the least. "So… what are you doing? It's early."

"I have classes, Yukari. Humans do this thing called school where they learn how not to be entirely useless to other humans," Reimu said, looking over at her.

"Oh. I suppose that will complicate trying to help me…?" Yukari said.

"Not really. I actually have a two-week break that starts tomorrow. I just have to survive a couple of tests today and then it'll be all good. By the way, I want to tell Marisa about this. She is my friend, after all," Reimu said.

Yukari grinned at this.

"She won't believe you without proof. Perhaps I should come with you to this 'school' of yours," she said.

"No," Reimu responded flatly. She poured herself a cup of tea, and drained it without waiting for it to cool. It was best hot, after all.

"But why not? I have never been to a human school before, Reimu. And I promise not to get in your way. I can just use my dragon form, make myself very small, hide in your shirt-"

"You're not hiding in my shirt!"

"-your bag, then, and nobody will even know. Except this Marisa friend of yours," Yukari finished.

Reimu sighed.

"Fine, fine. But if you get me in trouble and I fail my test, I'll step on your tail."

"You wouldn't." Yukari suddenly looked rather pale.

"Then don't mess up my tests," Reimu said. She had finished drinking her tea by this point, and walked over to the door to get her bag. Yukari got to her feet and followed her over, and Reimu glanced over at her to see that she was once again a dragon, but absolutely tiny- a bit longer than Reimu's forearm, and a bit thicker than her thumb.

"If someone showed me a photo of you like this, I would say it looked fake as hell," Reimu said, opening the front pocket of her bag where she didn't have anything else. Yukari hopped in, and Reimu left it slightly open so the dragon could breathe.

"That's simply because you are unused to youkai. Oh, and if anyone you know has any… unusual features you may not have noticed before, try not to stare too much," Yukari said, poking her head out. She slipped back in, and Reimu tossed the bag over her shoulder and started out the door.

* * *

As Reimu walked out of history class, she had no idea if she'd done even remotely well on the test. It had all been stuff she'd studied before, but she had been pretty distracted by the fact that _her teacher had horns_.

"Reeeimuuu!" a voice called from somewhere behind her.

Reimu stepped aside at the last second, and Marisa shot past her and fell flat on her face. Again.

"Hello to you too, Marisa. I'm fine, thank you for asking. How are you?" Reimu said dryly, helping Marisa back to her feet.

"Can't complain. Haha. So since this is the last lunch we're having before break, I'll buy you some sweets afterwards, ze," Marisa said, grinning. Reimu immediately perked up.

"Marisa, have I told you you're amazing?" she said, trying not to drool at the idea of having something sweet.

"Only every day, ze," Marisa said teasingly, winking.

It was a short walk to the park, and it was only after they got there that Reimu remembered she had yet to introduce Marisa to her new 'friend'.

"Oh, Marisa, hey, I forgot, I have something to show you," she said, stopping near a bench.

"Huh? That's not something I hear from you very often," Marisa said. She waited while Reimu took her bag off her shoulder, and unzipped the front pocket. Reimu reached in, and pulled out the tiny purple form of Yukari, who was… sound asleep and dangling limply from Reimu's fingers.

"Oh my gods, Yukari, wake up," Reimu said, poking the dragon's nose. Yukari snapped awake at once, and leapt out of Reimu's hand, shifting into her almost-human form before she hit the ground.

"Did you really have to wake me up? I was comfortable," Yukari whined, rubbing her nose and letting out a yawn. Marisa stared.

"What," Marisa said.

"Yes, I had to wake you up. I _only_ have my friend here for you to meet. Marisa, this is Yukari Yakumo. She's a dragon. Literally. Youkai are real. Yukari, this is Marisa Kirisame. She can set anything on fire. Anything," Reimu said.

"Pleasure," Yukari said amiably.

"What," Marisa said.

"Marisa, are you okay?" Reimu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She just- I don't- but she was _tiny_! Where did all the rest of that mass _come from_?" Marisa finally blurted out, looking completely lost.

"Magic," Yukari said, shrugging. "Honestly, you should be asking where it _went_. At my full strength, my true form is about a hundred feet long."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" Marisa's grip on the handle of her own bag was so tight that her knuckles were starting to turn white. Reimu was starting to think that introducing the scientist to the youkai might not have been her smartest decision.

"Oh, you silly, you're just not thinking about it right. Magic is a force of nature. Like gravity. Only it's powered by the belief of sentient beings rather than subatomic particles," Yukari said, still pleasant and composed.

Marisa opened her mouth to say something, then paused. She started to speak again, then stopped again.

"…I'm not buying her anything," Marisa finally said, turning and starting off towards the yakitori stand.

"That went well," Yukari said. Reimu stared at her for a moment, confused, then picked up her bag and hurried after Marisa. By the time Reimu caught up, Marisa had stopped and was staring blankly at Mystia, who looked rather self-conscious.

"Kirisame…? You're, um, you're kind of freaking me out," Mystia said. Mokou was obliviously continuing to work, and Reimu had an immediate idea of why Marisa was just standing there.

"Hi, Mystia. Don't mind Marisa, she… probably just likes your wings, and is trying to think of an appropriate compliment," Reimu said. Yukari lightly trotted up beside Reimu, and waved.

There was a few seconds of silence.

Then the stand erupted into chaos.

"YOU CAN SEE MY WINGS?!" Mystia cried, literally jumping. She did indeed have a pair of soft-looking brown wings, and matching fluffy ears.

"_YAKUMO?!_" Mokou blurted out, her usual stoicism utterly broken and replaced with a look of total shock.

"You KNOW this weirdo?" Marisa asked, finally snapping out of her stunned state, and looking back and forth between Mokou, Yukari, and Mystia.

Reimu groaned, and buried her forehead in her hands. Yukari was turning out to be so troublesome. It took a moment for everyone to stop trying to question each other over one another, but finally Mystia covered her ears and let out a gods-awful screech, forcing everyone else to shut up and giving Reimu an even bigger headache.

"Okay, okay, so… Hakurei and Kirisame can see youkai now…?" Mystia asked.

"I… apparently?" Marisa said. "Mokou, are you in on this too…?"

"Yes, thanks to this troublesome lizard," Reimu said, gesturing to Yukari.

"I've been able to see youkai longer than you two have been alive. I'm not one myself, though," Mokou said, back to frowning. "Also, I wouldn't call Yakumo a lizard. Even I wouldn't want to piss off a nine thousand year old dragon."

"I'm seventeen," Yukari said serenely. Nobody acknowledged this.

"So um… I don't know how to say this politely, but Mystia, what are you?" Marisa asked. She had managed to collect herself somewhat by this point, luckily.

"I'm a sparrow! A night sparrow, really. When I sing, it messes with people's heads," Mystia said, proudly fluffing her wings and ears up.

"…So you're a _bird_. Working at a _yakitori _stand," Reimu cut in.

"I- I have to make a living somehow, okay? And Miss Mokou has been very kind to me and would never use me as ingredients!" Mystia said, paling a bit. Her wings and ears both drooped.

"That's because youkai don't regenerate near as quickly as they used to," Mokou said, though her tone was purely teasing this time. Mystia huffed and deliberately stared away from Mokou.

The resulting awkward silence was broken by Reimu's stomach growling loudly.

"Ah, I guess you guys will want some lunch. You know what, you actually managed to amuse me. So it's on me," Mokou said. She elbowed Mystia, who jumped, fluttering her wings, then quickly passed out some yakitori to Marisa, Reimu, and Yukari.

* * *

(Sorry that this one's a bit shorter. I'm trying to avoid having anybody be Mrs. Exposition, but when Reimu's as clueless as you guys, there has to be some of that...)


End file.
